Beer and Reverb

One thing I miss about California is drinking a few PBRs in a parking lot with my best friends and then seeing a band play in a living room shortly after. I remember one time seeing FIDLAR in a warehouse in LA. I had never heard of FIDLAR before this show but a friend said it would be a good idea to attend.

Me and my friend drank a few beers in the parking lot and went inside the warehouse. They opened up with “Cheap Beer”. The song sent a surge of adrenaline through me and within a minute I was jumping off the stage on to a bunch of drunk kids. Whether you’re listening to their recordings or seeing them live, FIDLAR is a band that you can’t resist moving to. People were stagediving and dancing, the place was packed to the brim. EVERYONE was moving. It was incredible. Most people had a beer in hand and the band was probably more fucked up than anyone in the audience. Check out this video of that night:

FIDLAR is one of many bands that are part of the new wave of garage rock. Many garage rock bands blend with other genres such as noise rock, lo-fi, punk, and psyche. Garage rock shows like this happen every day in California, particularly in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The shows generally have the energy of a punk/hardcore show minus the negativity. It seems that it’s all about getting drunk with your friends, playing loud music, and losing your fucking mind.

Thee Oh Sees

The prolific garage rocker Ty Segall is often credited as the founding father of this new wave of garage rock. Ty Segall has an impressive body of work including eight solo albums since 2008. He has nearly a dozen albums with other bands and collaborators. Ty Segall is playing in Albuquerque on March 19th at Launchpad (21+) and March 18th in Santa Fe at High Mayhem (All Ages). His songs can be whacky, loud, psychedelic, and punkish; but they are always catchy.

The garage rock scene is such a notable part of California subculture that a radio station (Vinewood Blvd. Radio) in “Grand Theft Auto 5” is dedicated to this music. The DJ for this radio station is Nathan Williams of WAVVES.

FUZZ

This seems like a good opportunity to be a piece of shit and promote my band, NO THRILL. We play garage/noise/no-fi rock and are playing two shows on Mar. 22. We are playing Belen Fest around 7pm and at Burt’s Tiki Lounge at 10pm. Our demo is below.

I’ve made another playlist full of songs that get my blood pumping. Songs that make me want to drive really fast, songs that make me want to drink shitty beer with my friends, songs that make me proud to be a Californian. It starts off energetic, moves to a more mellow/poppy section, and then ends on a more riff-based psychedelic note. Ty Segall makes his way on to this playlist four times under four different aliases (Fuzz, Traditional Fools, and Ty Segall Band). If you’ve never listened to this type of music it’s about damn time. Play this playlist at a party, let these songs be your spring break anthems, let this playlist make you want to move to California.

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Dillon was born and raised in Southern California. Dillon writes and directs his own short films and has been working as a videographer/video editor for six years. He writes and records his own music under the alias Adult Beverage (adultbeverage.bandcamp.com). He is interested in film, music, and human beings.